Barrier container

ABSTRACT

A container and method of containing, shipping, storing, and handling objects to prevent water vapor from entering the container atmosphere and to avoid toxic gas emission from the container atmosphere to the outside environment.

Assignee Donald 12. Smith Ton/son, Md. 706,367

Feb. 1, 1060 Jluly 20, 19711 Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented HAMMER CONTMNIEM 0 (Ilnirns, 7 Drawing 1" iga.

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lField 011' Smrch The United Stntm 01 America as repnted by the Secretary of the Army 150/05, 73/40.7,150/1 1. 065d 01/20, 865d 89/22,G01m 3/00 150/5, 1; 73/40]; 229/35 MF [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,158,226 5/1939 Elsey ISO/0.5 X 3,174,329 3/1965 Kaufman t 1. 73/407 3,312,221 4/1967 Overment ISO/0.5 X 3,406,891 10/1968 Buchner.,............ 229/35 (MF) 3,487,677 1/1970 Molitor 73/40.? FORlElGN PATENTS 1 19,303 10/1918 Great Britain ISO/0.5

1,070,016 5/1967 Great Britain ISO/0.5

Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Attorneys-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward Kelly, Herbert Earl and Bernard J. Ohlendorf MllS'll'llMC'll: A container and method-of containing, shipping, storing, and handling objects to prevent water vapor from entering the container atmosphere and to avoid toxic gas emission from the container atmosphere to the outside environment.

BARRIER CONTAINER DEDICATORY CLAUSE The invention described herein may be manufactured, used,

SPECIFICATION My invention relates to a barrier shipping storage container for a rocket system warhead section containing conventional GB toxic agent.

The rocket system warhead section cannot be made to prevent leakage of GB toxic agent payload contained in the warhead section. This problem of GB toxic agent leakage obviously is a safety hazard in shipping, storing, and handling warhead sections containing GB toxic agent, and my invention was conceived and reduced to practice to overcome this problem.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a barrier container for a rocket system warhead section containing GB toxic agent which prevents escape of toxic agent to the outside environment and avoids a toxic agent contamination hazard.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple and reliable method to assure safety in handling a warhead section containing toxic GB agent during shipping, storing, and handling of the agent-filled warhead section.

A further object of my invention is to provide a simple and reliable method and container which will assure safety in handling a warhead section containing toxic GB agent, which will withstand rough handling of a warhead section containing toxic GB agent and which will permit agent-monitoring means.

Other objects will be obvious from or will appear in the specification hereinafter set forth.

FIG. l is a view of the shipping box to contain a rocket system warhead section enclosed in my barrier container.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a rocket system warhead section enclosed in my barrier container within the shipping box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view showing spherical munitions containing toxic agent as the payload within a rocket system warhead section; the warhead section being enclosed in my barrier container.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the filter port assembly for my barrier container.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the end flap assembly for my barrier container.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the sampling port assembly for my barrier container.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the assembled end of FIG. 5 with a shipping block in place.

My invention and FIGS. 1 to 7 will now be described in detail as follows.

My barrier container is fabricated from a watervapor proof material, hereinafter referred to as barrier material, which is capable of being readily cut, formed, and heat sealed; such as material which conforms to class I of military specification B- l3lE, and consists of five layers of material heat sealed together; namely, one layer of at least 3 mil. thick polyethylene, a layer of 44/40 count linen fabric material superimposed on the 3 mil. polyethylene, a layer of at least 1 mil. thick polyethylene superimposed on the linen fabric, a layer of at least 0.07 mil. thick aluminum foil superimposed on the 1 mil. polyethylene, and a layer of at least 3 mil. thick polyethylene superimposed on the aluminum foil. The material is cut in three sections I, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, to conform to the warhead configuration, and the sections are heat sealed together to form a container 2 having scams 3 as shown in FIG. 3. Heat sealing and seam forming is accomplished by overlapping the edges of adjacent sections 1% inches and running a flat heating iron having a temperature range of 200 F. to 500 F. along the overlapped material at a temperature suitable to fuse the layers of material together. One seam is heat sealed to a distance on each end of the sections sufficient to hold the sections together but to permit insertion of the warhead within the barrier container. Prior to heat sealing, the ends of the sections which are to form the container aft end are cut to form pie shape configurations 4, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Pie-shaped structures 4 are then folded inwardly, as shown in FIG. 5, .and two barrier material discs 5 and 6 are placed on either side of the folded pie-shaped structures. A wood disc of the same diameter as the barrier material discs is placed behind disc 6, the wood disc not being shown in the drawing, to act as a support means during heat sealing, and the two discs and pie-shaped structures are sealed together, in the conventional plastic heat-sealing manner and as described above, to form a hermetic seal to prevent water vapor from entering the container and toxic gases from escaping the container upon completion of the final container closure. While my discs were 29 inches :in diameter, this dimension is adjustable within the skill of the art to suit the size and configuration of the object being sealed within my barrier container. Four holes 6 of convenient size consistent with the object to be contained within my barrier container are punched in the pie-shaped structure end of my container to permit securing the object l0, containing payload 11 and to be contained within the barrier container, to shipping block 7 by studs 3, as shown in FIG. 7, for mounting within shipping box 9, shown in FIG. ll. Five sampling ports 12, to periodically check and test for any toxic contamination within my sealed barrier container, and one filter port 1.3 to continuously bleed off any toxic vapor within my sealed barrier container, as shown in FIG. 2, are located within my barrier container at any convenient location. Located within sampling ports 12 are hollow, cylindrical, threaded lead-in structures 14 hermetically sealed within sections 1 of my barrier container and fastened thereto by gasket I5 and nut. means 16, as shown in FIG. 6. Dust cap 117 is provided to install on and seal lead-in 14 while sampling is not taking place to avoid dirt clogging the lead-in; the cap 17 being connected to nut 16 by chain 18 to avoid loss of the cap. Threads are provided on lead-in 14 to permit connection of a vacuum pump, not shown in the draw ing, thereto to enable evacuation of any gaseous atmosphere within my barrier container whenever necessary. Located within filter port I3 is a hollow and tapered lead-in structure 119 hermetically sealed within section I of my barrier container and fastened thereto-by gasket IIS and nut means 16, as shown in FIG. l. Lead-in structure 19 is provided with conventional gripping ridges, not shown in the drawing, to enable fastening conventional tubing 20, such as polyethylene tubing, thereto for connection to a conventional gas absorption canister means 211, such as disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 2,825,424; the canister being located within shipping box 9 at any convenient location, as shown in FIG. 2, and permanently connected during shipping, handling, and storage to lead-in structure 19' to continuously absorb any toxic gas escaping from the contained object 10 into my barrier container. After carefully placing object 10 in a manner to avoid damaging my barrier container within my barrier container, the final seam 3 is heat sealed, mounting block 7 is bolted to object 10 as shown in I, the barrier container containing object 10 with mounting block 7 attached thereto is located within shipping box 0 as shown in FIG. 2, the atmosphere within my hermetically sealed barrier-container is exhausted in the conventional manner by vacuum pump means, a vacuum test is conducted to insure a properly sealed assembly in the conventional manner such as in accordance with military specification P-l 16D paragraph 4.4.3.4 Method IAl6, and top 22 is fastened to box 0 by any conventional means such as nails or screws. Access covers 24 are fastened by screw means 25 to top 22 to permit easy removal and to gain access within box 9 to permit sampling by means of structures I4 as required. Tie down strap 2a, fastened to box 9, is provided to prevent the contained object I0 from shifting during shipping and handling.

It is obvious that other modifications can be made of my invention, and I desire to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. A shipping and storage container for a rocket system warhead section containing conventional GB toxic agent; said container excluding water vapor from entrance therein, preventing toxic gas escape therefrom, being hermetically sealed, and comprising a plurality of sections of material impermeable to water vapor and toxic gas, at least one sampling port located in each section, and at least one filter port located in the container; the impermeable material consisting of a layer of heat scalable plastic at least 3 mils. thick, a layer of linen fabric superimposed on the 3 mils. plastic, a layer of heat scalable plastic at least l mil. thick superimposed on the linen fabric, a layer of aluminum foil at least 0.07 mil. thick superimposed on the 1 mil. plastic, and a layer of heat scalable plastic at least 3 mils. thick superimposed on the aluminum foil; the layers being heat sealed together to form an integral unit.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein the linen fabric has a count of 44/40.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein one end of each section is cut to form pie-shaped configurations therein, the sections are heat sealed together to enclose an object, and the picshaped configurations are heat sealed to a forward and a rear impermeable material disc; the heat sealing being adapted to form a hermetically sealed container.

4. The container of claim 1 wherein a hollow, cylindrical, threaded lead-in structure is hermetically sealed within the sampling port; said lead-in being adapted to enable evacuating the container and to sample and test for a toxic gas within the container when the container is hermetically sealed.

5. The container of claim 4 wherein the lead-in is hermetically sealed by gasket and nut means.

6. The container of claim 4 wherein the lead-in is adapted to be connected to a toxic gas sampling and testing apparatus and vacuum apparatus.

7. The container of claim I wherein a hollow, tapered leadin structure is hermetically sealed within the filter port; said lead-in having ridges adapted to grip plastic tubing means for connection to a toxic gas-absorbing canister means.

8. The container of claim 7 wherein the lead-in is hermetically sealed by gasket and nut means. 

1. A shipping and storage container for a rocket system warhead section containing conventional GB toxic agent; said container excluding water vapor from entrance therein, preventing toxic gas escape therefrom, being hermetically sealed, and comprising a plurality of sections of material impermeable to water vapor and toxic gas, at least one sampling port located in each section, and at least one filter port located in the container; the impermeable material consisting of a layer of heat sealable plastic at least 3 mils. thick, a layer of linen fabric superimposed on the 3 mils. plastic, a layer of heat sealable plastic at least 1 mil. thick superimposed on the linen fabric, a layer of aluminum foil at least 0.07 mil. thick superimposed on the 1 mil. plastic, and a layer of heat sealable plastic at least 3 mils. thick superimposed on the aluminum foil; the layers being heat sealed together to form an integral unit.
 2. The container of claim 1 wherein the linen fabric has a count of 44/40.
 3. The container of claim 1 wherein one end of each section is cut to form pie-shaped configurations therein, the sections are heat sealed together to enclose an object, and the pie-shaped configurations are heat sealed to a forward and a rear impermeable material disc; the heat sealing being adapted to form a hermetically sealed container.
 4. The container of claim 1 wherein a hollow, cylindrical, threaded lead-in structure is hermetically sealed within the sampling port; said lead-in being adapted to enable evacuating the container and to sample and test for a toxic gas within the container when the container is hermetically sealed.
 5. The container of claim 4 wherein the lead-in is hermetically sealed by gasket and nut means.
 6. The container of claim 4 wherein the lead-in is adapted to be connected to a toxic gas sampling and testing apparatus and vacuum apparatus.
 7. The container of claim 1 wherein a hollow, tapered lead-in structure is hermetically sealed within the filter port; said lead-in having ridges adapted to grip plastic tubing means for connection to a toxic gas-absorbing canister means.
 8. The container of claim 7 wherein the lead-in is hermetically sealed by gasket and nut means. 